A solid footing is the best place to be when you decide what your next step should be. That’s our approach to wealth advice. We want to put clients in a position where their financial basics are covered and they have cash on hand to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

In our most recent episode of the Uncommon Life Project podcast, we take a closer look at how to create a financial safety net that ultimately gives you the ability to take some risks when others may not be able to.

A good financial plan will help you strategically invest in yourself, so your basic needs are covered and then you can make informed decisions about investing in ways that align with who you are. We think your unique abilities and what God has put you on the earth to do is your long position in the market. That’s what we mean when we say your life is long – the market.

what you will learn in this episode:

• How to de-risk your risk
• Why low-cost index funds are not the only game in town
• How to think of banking as a process rather than a product
• The benefits of indexed annuities
• Ways to mitigate risk so you can pursue the life you want
• What real diversification looks like
• How to create multiple income streams from one common interest

When someone you know and respect recommends a product or service, that makes a huge difference in your opinion of that product or service. The good news is you don’t have to be a blockbuster movie to utilize the power of product placement. And you don’t have to hire a Kardashian to gain the benefits of influencer marketing.

In Episode #33, Phillip and Bryan talk with Stacy Jones about the power and accessibility of influencer marketing and product placement. You don’t have to be a multi-national corporation to do these things. Stacy talks about starting her business and learning some hard lessons along the way that you can definitely benefit from in your business.

Stacey Jones is the CEO of Hollywood Branded, a Los Angeles-based marketing, branded content, and product placement agency. She has 23 years of leadership experience building global branded content campaigns for top fortune 500 companies, utilizing hundreds of brands including Blackberry, Bumble, Canadian Club, and Pilot Pen.

An acknowledged expert in the field, Stacy has appeared on top media outlets and spoken at conferences around the globe. She also hosts the podcast, “Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.”

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• How to transition from understanding a business to owning a businesses
• Advice on hiring (or not hiring) friends
• How to manage a business breakup
• The importance of a robust sales system and pipeline to fuel ongoing growth
• Basics of influencer marketing
• Finding the right brand/product placement fit
• The power of nano and micro influencers

We love it when we can teach clients a core principle and they take it and run with it. We love it, even more, when they teach us about being entrepreneurial and escaping the cubicle of doom. Few are doing that with more energy and outright charisma than our guest.

On episode #32, we talk with Molly Rose Speed. Molly went from a corporate job she was not in love with, to running multiple businesses and side projects that are now keeping her very, very busy. She and her husband, Lance, used the principles of uncommon banking (using the cash value of a whole life insurance policy, along with the power of interest accrued on the total policy dollar amount) to fuel a truly uncommon life.

Molly has leveraged her experience as a virtual assistant into two business ventures; one teaching others the basics of being an effective virtual assistant, and the other as a total package resource that lets public speakers focus on speaking, and leaving the marketing, booking and back office details to the experts. She and Lance have other side-projects going on that we’ll talk about as well.

We dig into at least 3 sources of residual income that Molly and Lance are using to live the uncommon life of their choosing.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• Why there is no one right way to escape the cubicle of doom
• How using even a spare bedroom for Airbnb can make a big impact on cash flow
• How uncommon banking works in real life
• Why the thing you are good at is often what the world needs more of
• How to create businesses around what you are good at
• Practical ways to broaden your reach with technology
• How to manage multiple business ventures
• Finding the right partners for the right project

A big part of what makes us uncommon as wealth advisors is our focus on putting your money to work for you before age 65, not after. You’ve got big dreams for the here and now. And here’s the thing: YOU are your greatest asset. We think that investing right now in you and your dreams is the way to gain dividends now and into your bright future.

In Episode #31 of the Uncommon Life Project podcast, Bryan and Phillip discuss the two types of money: now money and later money. How do you look at your dreams for the present without stealing from retirement? There are so many ways to grow your wealth besides a 401(k) or IRA. There are strategies that help you grow your money so it is not all stockpiled into that bucket you can only access later.

It’s good to delay gratification, so this is not about having access to your money so you can throw it away. It’s about investing in things that make sense now and in the future. It’s about NOT delaying the things you are most passionate about. It’s about growing your now money so you can design the life you want for now and into the future.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• How to create time and money freedom in your life before age 65
• Why an employer match contribution is no reason to stay in a job you don’t love
• How to create the equivalent of an employer match by the way you invest
• Why, “When do you want to retire?” is not the best question to ask
• How to invest in your greatest asset: YOU
• Why interest rate is not the only consideration when looking at savings instruments vs. debt instruments
• How to design your life with time and financial freedom
• Why the stock market should not be held up as an example of compound interest

Owning one rental unit can help your cash flow. Two is better. The more you rent, the more money you have flowing through your economic engine. But there are challenges too. Buying an 8-plex rather than 6 to 8 separate units creates economies of scale that are hard to ignore.

That’s what happened with guest Kevin Bourke. As a coach for Iowa State University in Ames, he was looking for some side income to augment his coaching salary. Coaching track in the ’80s and ’90s was not a huge money-maker.

On our most recent episode of the Uncommon Life Project, we talk with our good friend Kevin Bourke about rental dos and don’ts, finding faith, and finding ways to provide mentorship to young people who are interested in business and looking for guidance. We even have an announcement about a joint venture with Kevin at the close of the podcast, so listen in!

When he is not managing his properties, Kevin Bourke serves as Chief Operating Officer of the Iowa Games, a statewide Olympic-style competition that is one of the biggest in the country. Prior to this, he spent years as a track and field coach at Iowa State University.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• How you could leverage the equity in one property to purchase another
• How to manage side gigs along with your main gig
• The importance of mentorship for young entrepreneurs
• How to stay sane while having a hand in multiple projects at once
• How faith can bring your purpose into clearer focus
• Leveraging other people’s money to grow wealth
• How to build wealth through the cyclical ups and downs of the economy
• News about a really exciting venture

Growing old and needing more care as we grow older – it’s just part of the circle of life. And before it happens to us, we all will likely help at least one loved one through the process. How do you plan for and help loved ones best plan for aging? What resources are needed to pay for an assisted living and nursing care facility?

These are BIG questions, and having someone who knows how to navigate them is hugely important.

We have that someone. On episode 29 of the Uncommon Life Project podcast, we speak with Evan Jackson. Evan is a person with the tools you definitely will need at some point in your life. Understanding how to plan for nursing home or assisted living facilities may not be top of mind, but you should definitely take time to understand and plan for it.

Evan is a Certified Medicaid Planner and a Licensed Health and Life Insurance Agent. He’s an Iowa native from Rockwell City. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Simpson College. While pursuing his Doctorate, Evan began building Iowa Senior Planning with its founder, Landon Sandberg.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• Rules for Medicaid eligibility
• Setting up an Irrevocable Trust
• Understanding the financial dos and don’ts when it comes to Medicaid
• Life insurance and annuity options that protect assets
• Whether or not to purchase long-term care insurance
• The average cost of assisted living and nursing home care
• What assets are exempt from consideration when applying for Medicaid

When people ask us what we do, we don’t really have a pat-answer elevator speech to give them. Phillip was recently approached at a party, and answered with the question: “What keeps you up at night?”

This episode of the Uncommon Life Podcast is all about that question. When we work with clients, we want to discover those financial questions – the concerns that gnaw at you and maybe even keep you up at night. Helping you move beyond those concerns is right in our wheelhouse, and it’s what we are digging into here in Episode 28.

Most of the time, people’s concerns boil down to: how can I pursue a dream I have now, without stealing from the money I will need in retirement? You’d be surprised at the creative solutions you might have right at your fingertips to answer that question. That’s really where we come in – to help you find those creative solutions.

So if your question is just, “how can I fund a Roth IRA?” we might not be the right fit for you. We can definitely help you with that, but our wheelhouse is really to take your uncommon goals and help you find uncommon ways to solve that equation so you can meet those goals.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• Why rate of return does not keep most people up at night
• The kinds of financial concerns that DO keep people up at night
• How exploring what you are passionate about can be the financially prudent thing to do
• Creative ways to finance your dreams today, rather than putting them off until retirement
• The mindset shift needed to give yourself permission to chase your dreams
• Why benefits alone shouldn’t be a barrier to escaping your cubicle prison
• Why taking the uncommon path can be the best decision to make

What does it take to scale a business from a $2,000 initial investment to one that serves customers in tens of thousands of venues all over the Midwest? Let’s dig into that.

On Episode 27 of the podcast, we talk with Dereck Lewis about how he took his grandma’s cookie recipes and turned them into a business that has had a 100% growth rate each year since it started in 2012. For one thing, it takes the right mentors. It might take a little bit of “this is my last best chance” kind of mental motivation. And it takes a ton of hard work.

Dereck Lewis is the owner of Thelma’s Treats, makers of handmade ice cream sandwiches that are, well, delicious. Dereck started this venture after sticking a toe into the worlds of insurance and real estate.

This is a fascinating conversation – it’s kind of the podcast equivalent of a buddy movie for start-up nerds. Dereck digs into the challenges he faced early on, talks about two great mentors that helped immensely and also provided some tough love.

If you are looking for an engaging, fine-grain look at how to scale up a business, this will be time very well spent.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• How to scale a business starting with a bootstrap and a prayer
• Lessons from growing up in a family business
• How to build in resilience in an up or down economy
• How to pivot to the segment of the business that is working best
• The role of faith and principles in the way you run your business
• Knowing when to level off growth in a business
• Building a track record that will attract lenders
• Finding the right mentors who will tell you the truth and help you grow
• How to scale a physical infrastructure-heavy business

Entrepreneurs tend to run on creativity and adrenaline. Setting up processes and systems? That’s boring stuff. But that’s the stuff that turns a great idea, all that creativity, and adrenaline, into a thriving business.

Our guest on this episode knows a lot about all of these components. Mark Stanley has started multiple businesses and is a coach and consultant helping entrepreneurs with exactly these issues – creating scalable and repeatable processes – and IMPLEMENTING them into your business. He’s made a huge difference for Uncommon Wealth Partners, so we had to have him share his wisdom!

Mark is the founder of the WHY! Company – a business consultancy that helps business leaders clarify, simplify and achieve their vision. He is a successful business leader who has consulted with over 100 companies, sits on a number of advisory boards and owns a few businesses. Mark is a sought-after and trusted advisor who believes that you must create value before you expect anything in return.

Mark has worked with many different types of organizations in just about every industry. He is an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) implementer, using this and other tools to help companies grow and thrive. In all of his work, he has found a few universal truths across all organizations that involve people and processes.

Mark believes that learning is the fountain of youth that keeps you inspired and motivated to do something great each day. Mark spends about 10 days a year in seminars learning from the best-of-the-best. He earned a BBA in Finance with Honors, from the University of Iowa, and an MBA from Drake University.

what you will learn in this episode:

• How the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) works
• Overcoming confirmation bias in conflicts at work
• Creating scalable and repeatable processes
• Unlocking potential by creating systems that match your vision and grow your business
• Why the pursuit of mastery is so necessary for success
• How to learn and grow when things go wrong
• Using EOS principles at home to get more unified and have less friction around collective goals
• How to create a life of freedom in time, money, and relationships
• Getting out of the prison of “I should” or “I shouldn’t”
• Setting family goals as well as business goals

Welcome to Season Two of the Uncommon Life Podcast! We had such a wonderful experience in our first year! If you’ve been listening for awhile – thank you for listening and for sharing your thoughts on how to make the podcast even better in the future. If you are checking us out for the first time, welcome!

In this episode, we wanted to jump right in and talk about shifting your mindset when it comes to following your dreams. When we talk with people about their hopes and dreams, 9 times out of 10, it is things they would like to accomplish in the next 1 to 3 years. But the common way people save and use money means that those dreams are more than likely deferred until retirement.

We would say that's kind of a flawed system. You should start trying to do more of what you love doing right now.

It's mindset over money and when you have that mindset, you take control of things in the future. This isn’t magical thinking. We help people accomplish this, and we want that for you.

Welcome to the Uncommon Life!

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How to change your mindset and not put things off until retirement
• Facilitating your dreams for the present without stealing from your future
• Doing now what God has designed you to do
• How to embrace and invest in what you are passionate about
• Why productivity and purpose lead to a happier, healthier retirement
• Why, even in retirement, you don’t need to think of your income as fixed
• The importance of taking time now to think about hopes and dreams
• How planning for your dreams can happen today, whatever your age
• Why the stock market is not the best place to look for passive residual income